Various forms of gaming tickets for use in games of chance are known in the art. Examples of such gaming tickets and methods of production are found in the following United States patents, the disclosures of which are now expressly incorporated herein by reference: commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,071; U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,010; U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,888; U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,049; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,124.
In addition to gaming tickets, there exists a gaming product known as Flare Cards, an example of which is depicted in FIG. 1. Such a Flare Card 10 and some gaming tickets have exposed foil portions designed to catch the attention of a potential player. There also exists a combination Flare/Seal Card known to those skilled in the art. Turning to the example of a Flare Card, a Flare Card illustratively may be displayed behind a counter at a convenience store as an advertisement to potential players to play the advertised game. These Flare Cards are produced by non-selectively laminating an entire foil sheet to an entire piece of paper stock of generally equally and co-extensive dimensions. For example, an 8.5 inch by 11 inch piece of foil and an 8.5 inch by 11 inch piece of paper are laminated together. The 8.5 inch by 11 inch area comprised of foil is the obverse side on which any desired combination of letters, numbers, colors and/or designs will appear, whereas the reverse or paper side of the laminate will generally be devoid of such markings. The entire surface area of the obverse side or surface of the Flare Card laminate is entirely comprised of foil. Thereafter, portions of the foiled area are blocked, by for example printing of graphics 17 or shading 18, in order to end up with foil visible in only selective portions 15 of the foiled side. Consequently, portions of the foil covering substantially all of the area of at least one of the surfaces of the Flare Card are masked such that they cannot be viewed by a potential player. Indeed, the masked portions 17, 18 illustratively could exceed to a great degree the unmasked foiled portions. The unmasked foiled portions 15 typically grab the attention of potential players. Similarly, gaming tickets with foil have at least one surface whose area completely comprises foil, which is subsequently masked to form selective foil graphics.
Illustratively, gaming tickets, such as for example and without limitation a seal card, an instant winner card, and/or a combination flare/seal card are produced by laminating together two or more pieces of paper stock. For example, a first piece of paper stock may comprise a gaming piece having gaming information or designs printed on an obverse side (FIG. 2) thereof and characters comprising “play combinations” or gaming combinations printed on the reverse or “game face” side thereof (FIG. 3). The gaming piece may have foil laminated thereto. A second piece of paper stock or Bristol may comprise a series of perforated openings or windows cut thereon. The windows may have characters printed on the obverse side and may be black or darkened Bristol on the reverse side in order to render the covering piece opaque. The first and second pieces of paper stock are laminated together such that each gaming combination corresponds to a perforated opening or window. Illustratively, a player pulls open a perforated opening in order to reveal the gaming combination corresponding to that opening. The printed graphics or shading on the gaming piece and the black or dark coating on the concealing piece prevent a player from viewing the gaming combination prior to opening the perforated window. Use of foil on either or both the gaming piece and the covering piece can also mask the gaming combination. Gaming tickets are regulated by various statutes and regulations and the illustrative invention will comply with and such statutes and regulations in force as of the filing date of the application.
Foil may be selectively deposited on a portion of a gaming ticket for aesthetic value. Gaming tickets with selective use of foil are designed to differentiate themselves from tickets without foil. The more aesthetically pleasing gaming ticket will be more desirable than gaming tickets lacking foil. Selective use of foil may also be cheaper than having one or more surfaces of a gaming ticket, such as for example and without limitation a pull tab gaming ticket, or a Flare Card known to those skilled in the art comprised entirely of foil, which may thereafter be masked to form the desired foil graphics. Illustratively, this selective use of foil, or spot-foil, may be either on the gaming piece, the covering piece, or both as desired and may also be used on the Flare Card, which is typically complementary to and serves to provide information on the corresponding game of chance.
The present invention may comprise one or more of the features identified in the various claims appended to this application and combinations of such features, as well as one or more of the following features and combinations thereof.
A gaming ticket comprising a gaming piece having a gaming combination is disclosed. The gaming combination may be concealed by a covering piece. The gaming piece and the covering piece may be laminated together. The covering piece may define a window which a user may peel or pull back to reveal the gaming combination. Foil may be selectively deposited on a portion of the gaming ticket.
Illustratively, for example, the gaming ticket may include a plurality of foil portions coupled to the gaming piece and/or the covering piece. The foil portions may be coupled to either the obverse side and/or the reverse side of the gaming piece and the covering piece. The foil portions may be spaced-apart from each other. The gaming ticket may also include adhesive applied to the obverse side of the gaming piece and/or the covering piece. The foil portions are positioned on the adhesive. Illustratively, the adhesive is UV glue. In other embodiments, the foil portions may each include a heat-activated adhesive agent.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a gaming ticket includes a gaming piece having a gaming combination, a covering piece coupled together with the gaming piece to conceal the gaming combination, and a foil portion coupled to the gaming piece and/or the covering piece. The foil portion is smaller than the surface area of each of the gaming piece and the covering piece. Illustratively, generally the entire foil portion is visible to a user. In other words, the foil portion is not masked by other portions of the gaming ticket. The foil portion may also be positioned to obscure the gaming combination. Further, the gaming ticket may include a second foil portion which is also smaller than the surface area of the gaming piece and the covering piece. The gaming ticket may also include a varnish applied to an obverse side of the gaming piece.
According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of producing a gaming ticket includes applying foil to a portion of the gaming ticket. The foil may selectively be applied to one or more portions of the gaming ticket. Illustratively, each portion of the gaming ticket to which the foil is applied is smaller than the surface area of the gaming ticket. The foil may be applied to an obverse side of the gaming ticket.
Further, adhesive may be applied to a portion of the gaming ticket that is smaller than the surface area of the gaming ticket. The foil is then applied to the adhesive and the adhesive may then be cured. Illustratively, the adhesive comprises UV glue. Further illustratively, varnish may be applied to one or both sides of the gaming ticket. The covering piece and the gaming piece may be laminated together and the foil may be applied to a portion of the gaming ticket after laminating the covering piece and the gaming piece together.
Illustratively, a heat-activated adhesive contained within the foil may be activated in order to adhere the foil to the portion of the gaming ticket. Further, activating the adhesive may include heating a die to approximately 250° F. and pressing the heated die against the foil and the portion of the gaming ticket.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the illustrative embodiment.